Common Injuries That Sports Medicine Doctors Treat

While sports and various physical activities are an excellent way to stay fit and gain mood-boosting endorphins, they present the risk of injury. Sports medicine doctors, like members of the team at Florida Wellness Medical Group, provide specialized care for sports injuries. Their goal is to protect your health while helping you return to the field, court, or rink faster. 

Some of the most common injuries that sports medicine doctors treat are:

Knee Injuries

Among athletes, the knees are particularly vulnerable to injuries, including:

  • ACL tears, which occur when the ligament that connects the shinbone and thigh bone is torn
  • Patellar tendinitis, occurs when the tendon in the patella, which connects the kneecap and shinbone, becomes inflamed
  • Torn meniscus, which occurs when the meniscus, a pad of cartilage in the knee is torn, causing pain, inflammation, and stiffness

Sprains

Sprains are extremely common, especially among athletes. This injury develops when a ligament (the type of tissue that connects two bones in a joint) is stretched or torn. Athletes tend to experience sprains from overstretching a ligament with extreme movement and may need sports medicine treatment to help the ligament heal properly. 

Dislocated Joints

When a joint is dislocated, it means that one of the bones in the joint pops out of its normal alignment. This injury most commonly affects the shoulder, but can also impact the knees, hips, and elbows. Sometimes, the joint may immediately pop back in the joint, but proper treatment is important to address the resulting injury to the surrounding tissues. Other times, a sports medicine doctor will need to safely pop the joint back into place. 

At Florida Wellness Medical Group, we’re proud to offer top-of-the-line integrative care for sports injuries. Contact us today to schedule an appointment!

Is Joint Pain Bringing You Down?

Joints are essential to the human body’s ability to sit, stand, walk, run, and partake in virtually any physical activity. Unfortunately, joints are also often the source of chronic pain, as they undergo significant strain throughout the day.

If you’re suffering from persistent pain in the hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, or any other joint in the body, rest assured: you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll explore joint pain and the many remedies available to treat it. 

What Are The Most Common Types of Joint Pain?

Joint pain comes in many forms, the most common of which include:

  • Osteoarthritis, the most prevalent form of arthritis, occurs when the cartilage that cushions the joints breaks down. This increases friction within the affected joints, typically leading to pain, stiffness, and swelling. 
  • Joint injuries, like sprains, sprains, and broken bones, can lead to lasting pain in a joint, especially if they’re not promptly or properly treated. 
  • Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that triggers pain and inflammation in the joints. 
  • Bursitis is an overuse injury that develops when the bursae (tiny, fluid-filled sacs that cushion the tissue within joints) become inflamed. 
  • Tendinitis occurs when the tendons, which connect muscle to bone in a joint, become inflamed. 
  • Gout is a condition that appears when crystals made in the body accumulate in a joint, leading to pain and inflammation. 

What to Do About Chronic Joint Pain

When joint pain doesn’t resolve within a few weeks with at-home remedies, it’s time to seek expert care. At Florida Wellness Medical Group, we offer a range of non-surgical treatments to help our patients overcome joint pain and return to their favorite activities. These treatments include:

To get started on your path to joint pain relief, schedule an appointment with our expert team today!

Is Your Diet Making Your Chronic Pain Worse?

Your diet and your overall health are intrinsically linked. While many people understand the connection between diet and digestion, for example, the connection between diet and pain is less widely understood. However, if you’re one of the over 51 million Americans who experience chronic pain, your diet could be affecting your pain levels. 

Here, we’ll discuss how dietary factors can impact chronic pain – and how to eat for pain relief. 

Which Foods Worsen Chronic Pain?

Certain foods can lead to increased inflammation throughout the body. Chronic inflammation contributes to pain by causing the tissue to swell. The swollen tissue may then press on nearby nerves, triggering pain. Chronic inflammation also dampens various bodily processes, often leading to fatigue, gastrointestinal discomfort, and even weight gain. All of these effects can exacerbate chronic pain. 

Foods that can cause increased inflammation include:

  • Refined or simple carbs, such as baked goods and white bread
  • Fried food, such as french fries and other common fast food items
  • Red meat, such as steaks and hamburgers
  • Processed meats, such as hot dogs
  • Lard, shortening, and margarine

Of course, moderation is key. The foods listed above are more likely to worsen chronic pain if they’re consumed frequently or in excess. 

Eating for Chronic Pain Relief

While an unhealthy diet can worsen chronic pain, a nutrient-rich diet can help resolve it. An anti-inflammatory diet should be rich in a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins.

The following foods have been specifically recognized for their anti-inflammatory benefits:

  • Olive oil
  • Fatty fish, including salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel
  • Tomatoes
  • Leafy green vegetables, including kale and spinach
  • Fruits, including berries, cherries, and oranges
  • Nuts, including almonds and walnuts

Chronic pain can hold you back from the activities you love the most. At Florida Wellness Medical Group, our medical experts can offer dietary advice and other treatments to start your journey to pain relief. Schedule your appointment today!

What Are Treatments For Spinal Stenosis?

Suffering from chronic back pain, sciatica, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the legs? You may be struggling with spinal stenosis. This common condition occurs when the spinal canal gradually narrows, often due to age-related spinal degeneration. As a result, spinal tissue can impinge on nearby nerves, triggering pain and neurological symptoms. 

Thankfully, many minimally-invasive treatments are available for spinal stenosis. Especially when the condition is diagnosed soon after symptoms appear, these treatments can effectively ease pain and inflammation. 

Read on to learn more about the most common non-surgical treatments for spinal stenosis. 

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy involves targeted exercises, stretches, and complementary treatments to improve patients’ strength, mobility, and pain levels. PT focuses not only on improving patients’ spinal stenosis symptoms but also on preventing future discomfort. This is achieved through exercises that strengthen the muscles that support the spine (the core and back muscles) and stretches that improve spinal mobility. 

Your physical therapist can also identify imbalances or irregularities in your movement patterns and help you resolve them. This will reduce the strain on your spine with day-to-day movements. 

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care focuses on improving the alignment of the spine and restoring the proper flow of energy throughout the body. This reduces the pressure on spinal nerves and facilitates circulation to the spine, allowing healing oxygen and nutrients to reach the damaged tissue. 

For spinal stenosis, your chiropractor may perform manual adjustments, non-surgical spinal decompression, and various other treatments. Your chiropractor can also offer nutritional and lifestyle counseling to facilitate the healing process. 

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is rooted in ancient Chinese medicine. It involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body to stimulate the natural healing response. This treatment can improve spinal stenosis symptoms by reducing inflammation, stimulating tissue recovery, and promoting relaxation. 

To learn more about these effective spinal stenosis treatments, schedule an appointment at Florida Wellness Medical Group today!

What is Sciatic Pain?

Do you experience pain, burning, tingling, or numbness in the back of your legs? You might be dealing with sciatic pain. This neurological condition impacts the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the body. With up to 40% of people experiencing sciatica at some point in life, it’s one of today’s most prevalent pain conditions. 

In this article, we’ll discuss what you need to know about sciatic pain, including its possible causes and treatment options. 

What Does Sciatic Pain Feel Like?

The sciatic nerve extends from the lower back through the buttocks and down the backs of the legs. So, you may experience sciatic pain at any point along this pathway. 

Sciatic pain is often accompanied by neurological symptoms like tingling, burning, numbness, weakness, and a pins and needles sensation in the affected area. The pain and neurological symptoms may worsen after extended periods of sitting, coughing, or sneezing. 

What Causes Sciatica?

Sciatic pain occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes irritated or compressed. This may result from the following spinal conditions:

  • Herniated disc
  • Spinal stenosis
  • Spinal injury
  • Degenerative disc disease
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Spinal tumors or cysts
  • Pregnancy: Sciatic pain can arise during pregnancy as the growing fetus imparts pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Additionally, you may be at a higher risk of developing sciatica if you have a sedentary occupation, are obese, have a previous spinal injury, or have poor posture.

How is Sciatica Treated?

Mild cases of sciatica can resolve on their own with at-home treatments like heat/cold therapy and over-the-counter pain medications. However, when sciatica doesn’t improve after a few weeks, it may require medical intervention. 

Chiropractic care and physical therapy are conservative treatments that can help alleviate sciatic pain. An experienced PT can provide exercises that take pressure off of the sciatic nerve, often by strengthening the muscles that support the spine. A chiropractor can restore spinal alignment with manual adjustments, among other methods, to stimulate healing and reduce spinal alignment.  

Schedule an appointment at Florida Wellness Group to learn more about the available treatment options for sciatica. 

Can Chiropractic Care Boost the Immune System?

Your immune system is responsible for protecting your body from foreign intruders, including viruses, bacteria, toxins, and fungi. So, it’s no wonder that patients today are looking for the best ways to keep their immune systems in top shape. 

Chiropractic care centers around the alignment of the spine to alleviate concerns relating to the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. While most people think about chiropractic care as a treatment for back pain, it offers numerous health benefits, including enhanced immune function.  

How Does The Spine Affect The Immune System?

Your spine contains the spinal cord which, together with the brain, comprises the central nervous system. The central nervous system, or CNS, transmits messages between the brain and the other parts of the body. 

When the spine is injured or out of alignment, it throws off and slows down the central nervous system’s route of communication. This may not only cause pain but also compromise the immune system.

With disrupted communication between the brain and the rest of the body, the nervous system may take longer to identify threats. This, in turn, slows down the immune system’s response to external threats. 

How Does Chiropractic Care Boost Immunity?

Faster Immune Response

Chiropractic care helps correct spinal misalignment to restore the function of the nervous system. As a result, the nervous system can trigger a faster immune response to foreign invaders. 

Lymphatic System Stimulation

Additionally, chiropractic care kicks the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system, into high gear. The lymphatic system is responsible for removing toxins from the body to prevent infection and disease. 

Reduced Stress Hormones

Chiropractic care also helps reduce the production of stress hormones, like cortisol, that may compromise your immune function.

The skilled chiropractors at Florida Wellness Medical Group can help you overcome signs of a weak immune system to more effectively avoid sickness and disease. Contact us today to schedule an appointment!

 

Benefits of Manual Therapy After a Car Accident

Even minor car accidents can cause significant trauma. Aside from any physical trauma caused during the accident, the stress of filing insurance claims, scheduling auto repairs, and completing paperwork long after the crash is often a recipe for tension and pain. 

Following a car accident, ramping up your self-care with manual therapy is an excellent way to get your body and mind back on track. Manual therapy is the therapeutic form of soft tissue work, deep tissue work, and trigger point therapy. It’s widely used for injury rehabilitation. 

The many notable health benefits of manual therapy after auto accidents include:

Pain Relief

The key benefit of manual therapy in any scenario, including after an auto accident, is pain relief. By manipulating soft tissue with various degrees of pressure and/or targeting specific points in the muscles, your manual therapist can alleviate pain without the need for medications. 

Restored Range of Motion

Manual therapy relieves tension and stiffness, which are common side effects of being in an auto accident. This can help restore and even increase your normal range of motion. 

Speedier Recovery

Manual therapy increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to injured tissues, allowing for a faster recovery period. Additionally, manual therapy can boost the immune system by stimulating the lymphatic system, which helps rid the body of waste. 

Relaxation and Stress Relief

Dealing with the aftermath of a car accident is stressful. Manual therapy can help you unwind and manage this stress by alleviating muscle tension and stimulating the release of endorphins. Endorphins are “feel good” hormones that help your body manage stress and pain.  

Scar Tissue Prevention

Scar tissue is a natural component of the body’s healing process. Unfortunately, scar tissue can limit your range of motion and even, in some cases, trigger pain. Manual therapy helps break down scar tissue after an auto accident to preserve your comfort and mobility in the long run. 

At Florida Wellness Medical Group, we offer manual therapy to help you relax and recover after an auto accident. Contact us today to request an appointment!

Why is Whiplash Pain Often Delayed?

Whiplash is a neck injury that most commonly occurs during auto accidents. It develops from a fast, vigorous back-and-forth motion of the neck. 

Pain from whiplash is often delayed for hours or even days. This can prolong patients’ recovery process and lead to worsened symptoms. 

The Reasons Behind Delayed Whiplash Pain

Adrenaline

One of the key reasons behind delayed whiplash pain is the body’s fight or flight response. In a car accident, in particular, the body releases adrenaline into the bloodstream.

Adrenaline is a type of stress hormone that prepares your body to respond to a threat. It dilates your blood vessels and airways for increased oxygen, boosts circulation to the muscles, and even reduces sensations of pain. 

The adrenaline rush that occurs during a car accident can numb the pain from whiplash. Until your adrenaline levels decrease, you may not notice whiplash symptoms.   

Delayed Inflammation

Additionally, it can take time for your immune system to trigger inflammation around the injured area. Once your body registers the inflammation, it may have been hours or days since the injury occurred. 

Short-Term Effects of The Accident

After a car accident, sports accident, major fall, or another type of physical trauma, many people don’t recognize whiplash symptoms as signs of the injury. They may write off the pain as a short-term effect of the accident, rather than an indication of a larger problem. 

Symptoms of Whiplash

  • Neck and shoulder pain
  • Neck and shoulder stiffness
  • Headache
  • Reduced range of motion in the neck
  • Light sensitivity
  • Nausea
  • Blurry vision
  • Irritability
  • Memory issues

Following a car accident, sports injury, or any form of physical trauma, visit a physician for a complete evaluation. Even if you’re not yet experiencing symptoms of whiplash, your physician can check for this injury and prescribe a treatment plan. 

Schedule an appointment at Florida Wellness Medical Group to speak with one of our trained physicians.  

What Age Should You Begin Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care is widely used as a treatment option for conditions impacting the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Through manual adjustments, rehabilitative exercises, and lifestyle counseling, a chiropractor can help you live more comfortably and healthily. 

With those facts in mind, many patients wonder when to begin chiropractic treatment. This article will discuss the different age groups that can benefit from chiropractic care and how it could work for you. 

Is Chiropractic Care Safe For Children?

Chiropractic care is considered safe for children as young as just a few months old. Typically, chiropractors will see children under the age of 18, and some chiropractors will treat babies under the age of two. 

A chiropractor can help resolve health concerns in infants and children including:

  • Colic
  • Poor spinal alignment
  • Difficulty latching and breastfeeding
  • Sleep problems
  • Digestive problems
  • Asthma
  • Low energy levels
  • Behavioral issues
  • Headaches

In infants and children, chiropractors make extremely gentle, safe adjustments. Bringing your child to a chiropractor early on can serve as a preventative strategy for various health problems, including poor posture and back pain.

Reasons To Visit a Chiropractor

For adults, it may be time to visit a chiropractor if you’re experiencing:

  • Chronic back or neck pain
  • Headaches
  • Symptoms from a sports or auto accident injury
  • Joint and/or muscular pain
  • Sleep disorders
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Stiffness and a lack of mobility
  • A sedentary lifestyle increases the pressure on the spine
  • Discomfort during pregnancy, including headaches, back pain, and poor sleep 

Adults and children of all ages can benefit from chiropractic care. Even if you’re not currently experiencing one of the health concerns listed above, a chiropractor can improve your overall wellbeing and prevent future health complications. 

At Florida Wellness Medical Group, we have advanced chiropractic facilities and an experienced team of chiropractors on staff to help you attain your health and wellness goals. Contact us today to schedule an appointment!